Johto Journeys
by Roseamongthorns
Summary: Rosie begins her travels with her friends and Chikorita by her side. Along with Team Rocket, there does appear to be an even bigger threat regarding the Johto Trio.Will Rosie and friends save their home region? OCs submission on hold. PM me for info!
1. Chapter 1: Meet and Greet

**Chapter 1: Meet and Greet**

**Sorry for the wait, everyone! I wasn't able to update it until now. I had to go this family night thing at my high school, and the internet was acting weird because a wire was unplugged or something. It's fixed now, so please do enjoy this first official chapter. Most OCs that have been submitted by PM shall appear, so yeah!**

Every ten year old in New Bark Town had anticipated this very moment. The Saturday where they would all receive their very first Pokemon, and journey to beyond. This was the moment! Well, actually, it was almost the moment. Right now our soon-to-be heroes are preparing for their journey.

"Sneasel!" The Sneasel jumped into the air with the flying sushi, and skillfully used Metal Claw on the food. The chopped meal fell onto the platter below, and was set on the wooden table before the Pokemon.

The couple that sat there applauded at the small preparation. Sneasel and his trainer, a tall man with curly red hair, served the meal, and bowed before going back into the kitchen. It was just another day for the customers at the Sapphire Remoraid, one of the highest rating resteraunts in the Johto region.

For Daniel Brooks, the owner of the resteraunt and the trainer of Sneasel, it was the day that his ten year old son would be beginning his journey. His only son, Jacob, or just Jake was at home getting ready before making his way to Professor Elm's lab. Daniel would definitely be sure to see his son off.

"Your son's leaving today, huh, Dan?" Asked one of his employees, a rather portly man with blond hair. "I remember when you guys first moved here, when he was only around seven."

Kenneth Arnolds, the manager, nodded as he made his way to his office. "They sure do grow up fast. My daughter, Jocelyn, will be starting today as well. My little girl."

Daniel laughed, and said, "I know what you mean. Mira was hoping that Jake would agree to stay another year, but he really wants to go. Guess he's inspired from my own coordinating days."

Sighing with both pride and a little sadness, Daniel looked around the kitchen. It had been upgraded to gourmet ever since the restaurant had obtained its fourth star. Now, the shining pots and pans hung from redwood cabinets, and the flooring was marble. It was just like most days, but his son would be leaving. He wouldn't be coming by the restaurant anymore after school as he used to.

Daniel wiped a small tear from his hazel eyes, and made his way back to the dining room. "Jake is going to have a blast, so getting upset shouldn't be the matter."

His Sneasel raised a claw in salute. "Sneasel, sneasel!"

. . . . . .

**A few miles from New Bark Town…**

Cole woke up with a bounce as the Jeep went over a bump in the road. He rubbed his eyes a few times before looking out the window. It was early, around maybe seven or eight AM. Soon, he would be in New Bark.

"Well, you certainly know how to sleep through a trip." The driver stated, turning the wheel of the vehicle to the left.

Hitchhiking had not really been Cole's plan, but the money that he did have needed to be saved for an emergency. Running away from the beaten down orphanage that he had been raised had been on the to-do list, but not hitchhiking. Especially with this man that kept making smart remarks.

The man had curled brown hair, and wore a strange purple suit. He also wore a short white cape, along with a red bowtie. He had narrowed dark eyes that looked at everything like a Fearow, ready to strike. Not to mention, he was always asking Cole stuff, testing his knowledge.

"When was the Brass Tower burned down?" "Who invented the pokeball?"

It never ended!

Cole sighed, heavily and smoothed his black hair down a bit. A few strands were sticking up a bit too much. He was glad that this man hadn't asked for any personal info. Saying that your parents had abandoned you at a wrecked orphanage, and then that you decided to run away wasn't exactly the brightest idea.

His parents were most likely creeps with emotional problems, at least in Cole's opinion. One good thing was that they had left some money with him. Cole was surprised to find all of it, suspecting the owner of the orphanage to have used it herself. It wasn't a lot to begin with. Just about 340 pokedollars.

After reaching the closest town, Cole had purchased some clothes at a discount store. The total amount had only been around ten dollars, surprisingly. They were going out of business or something. The clothes were simply a grey shirt, denim jeans, and a black jacket to keep out of the cold. Practical and simple. Along with that Cole had bought a grey backpack, a pair of sunglasses, and some supplies.

A lighter hadn't been bought, which was why Cole had to get a fire type from Professor Elm. Fire was definitely needed to survive in the Pokemon world.

"So, do you know of the Legendary Trio of the Johto region, Harding?" The driver was talking to him now, his eyes still gazing at beyond the road.

Cole blinked the rest of sleep out of his sea-blue eyes, and stared at him. He slowly nodded. "Uh, yeah. Of course I have."

Purple suited guy nodded in response, certain to enter trivia mode. "Raikou, Entei, and Suicune are there names. And, I have mad it my life's quest to capture Suicune. For research of course."

"Right." Cole turned back to the road, and caught a glimpse of shimmery blue in the middle of the road. "Hey! What's that?!"

Brakes slammed down on, the dark blue Jeep screeched to a halt, right in front of the Pokemon. It was tall and graceful seeming, with a purple something flowing behind it. White spots dotted its upper body, and teal blue horns were on his head. The Pokemon took one look at the car, and leaped through the trees.

Purple suited guy stared, shocked at the Pokemon. He exited the van, and spoke in a quiet voice. "Stay there. Understood?"

He didn't even wait for an answer before letting an Alakazam from a pokeball. The two darted off after it. Cole was now left in the car, shaking his head.

Walking was his only option, but at least New Bark was in sight. The ten year old got out of the car, and began walking, all of his possessions in the backpack slung over his shoulder.

**. . . . . . . **

**At the Greene's residence…**

The violet colored Loudred alarm clock didn't even have to go off before Rosalinda Greene darted up in bed. Today was the day! And like everyone else, Rosie was excited. The lab would open up its glass doors at around nine, so it would be best to hurry along and get dressed now.

Rosie hopped out of bed, and quickly arranged her old porcelain doll, Molly along with her Pokemon dolls. She pulled out the middle drawer of her white dresser, and took the clothing out. Her bag was already packed, and her Pokegear was waiting on the kitchen table. So, only dressing and eating breakfast were really needed.

Her outfit was stylish, but quite simple. The pale pink shirt was prineted with a Cherrim on the front and a Cherubi on the back, and the sleeves went to her forearm. Pale beige shorts would also be worn, along with some ordinary white socks, and pink tennis shoes.

The new ten year old hurriedly dressed in her clothing, and went to the mirror in her bathroom to do her hair. After combing it out she tried putting her wavy, brownish blond hair into a bun, but then decided to tie it into a high ponytail with a rose pink ribbon.

Stepping halfway out the door, Rosie looked at her bedroom one last time. It wasn't exactly her very last time, but she wouldn't be in it for a while. She would probably miss sleeping in her own bed, and miss cuddling with her Cleffa doll and Molly.

Giving one last sigh of joy, excitement, and homesickness, Rosie closed the door behind her, and ran down the stairs. Her family was all seated at the table.

Her mother, Florence Greene smiled at her daughter, and breathed gently. "My oldest girl, all grown up."

"Mom," Rosie started to say, sitting beside her sister, Alice. "I'll be back before you know it."

Florence nodded at her daughter, and took a bite of French Toast. "French Toast for breakfast, your favorite."

"It's going to be so quiet around here." Alice muttered, taking a sip of orange juice. "Especially without you trying to sing all around the house."

Rosie blushed a scarlet red, and glared at her eight year old. "Okay, so my voice is horrible! Don't need to rub it in."

Alice shrugged. "I kind of do. This will be the very last day that I can annoy you. I'm really going to miss you, Rosie."

James Greene, Rosie's father, took a sip of coffee, and managed a half smile. "Well, Rosie-Girl, looks like the winds coming for you. Promise to call us once you get to Cherrygrove."

"In fact," Florence gathered up a few empty dishes and laid them in the sink. "Come by here one last time after you get your first Pokemon. My digital camera just got back from the pharmacy, and I would really like to get some pictures of you in."

Rosie smiled too, feeling a flutter of Beautifly stirring up in her stomach. "I promise. Is my Pokegear on the counter?"

It was, and Rosie continued eating.

**. . . . . . **

**At the Kururugi residence…**

Kurogasa was shirtless, standing in front of the full angle mirror in his bedroom. His body was definitely developing muscles, and his oddly shaped birthmark was still right there on his arm was still there. Most would assume that Kuro was maybe stuck up about his looks, but he just was curious.

Ten was a new age for him, so examining to see if the age update had made him more muscular was a natural thing for boys. Besides his dark jeans, black fingerless gloves, and black tennis shoes, he was simply shirtless. Kuro wasn't a bad looking kid with short, chestnut brown hair and sky-blue eyes.

Finally, he was satisfied, and he pulled his silver T-shirt on, along with his cobalt-blue jacket. He pulled the Suicune shaped pendant over his head, and grinned. It was the last thing given to him by his father before he had disappeared a couple of years earlier. A part of his father would always be with him, in a way.

Kuro walked out of his room, and made his way down the hall with his white backpack. His mother sat on the sofa, dressed in an everyday outfit of a pink shirt, a long jean skirt, and house slippers. Even dressed simply, Kaname Kururugi was an attractive thirty year old, with her shoulder length caramel hair and sky-blue eyes.

Seeing her son, Kaname hurried over, and hugged him to her chest tightly.

"Oh, Kuro!" She cried, patting his brown hair. "I'm just going to miss you. First your father, now you!"

Kuro pushed away, gently. "Mom! It's alright! And I won't be leaving permanently like Dad did."

Kaname nodded. "I know, I know. I'll be so lonely."

"Once my Pokemon team is full, I'll send my other Pokemon here." Kuro assured her, seating himself at the glass dining room table. "The yard's big enough for them."

"Maybe I'll go get a Skitty or Meowth from the Adoption Center. You know for company?" Kaname poured grape juice into her son's glass, and placed an omelet before him. "Eat up, okay?"

Kuro sighed, but smiled. "Right, Mom."

**. . . . . .**

**At the Arnolds residence…**

Her wavy dark brown hair pushed back with a midnight purple headband, Jocelyn skipped down the stairs of her home, two at a time.

This would be the last time that she would race down these steps in excitement. Now, she would be leaving on her journey just like her five older brothers and sister had.

Mrs. Arnolds was drinking her coffee at the kitchen counter. She was a novelist, and would enjoy the quiet days to come. Still, she missed all five of her older children terribly, and now her youngest would be leaving as well.

Memories of Uriah and Ben, her oldest sons running out of the house to get their first Pokemon went through her mind. They were eighteen now, and were both quite accomplished trainers. Of course, Ben had recently been studying water types in the Orange Islands.

Jocelyn hurriedly gobbled down a bowl of Frosted Flakes and orange juice. She was the one with a big appetite, and most edible things could be consumed by her.

"Hey, Mom," She started to say. "Can I have some coffee?"

Mrs. Arnolds was quite the carefree mother with curly blonde hair, a slender figuire, and big greenish hazel eyes. Still, she had a rule about drinking coffee. Her children couldn't begin until age ten, since the Arnolds believed that coffee caused short height. Apparently, genes also mattered seeing as Jocelyn was a little short.

Nodding, she handed a mug to her daughter. "Aren't you excited?"

Jocelyn nodded. "Why, of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well, you're being quiet for once, Jocelyn." Her mother pointed out, managing a cheerful grin.

The ten year old shrugged and smiled. "I'm just trying to be mature. You know, dad always said that children should be seen and not heard."

Jillian shook her head. "Gosh, you're such a joker. I'm really going to miss you being around here, Joycie. You do know that, right?"

"Certainly."

**. . . . . .**

**The Brooks' residence…**

Dressed in a red and black jacket over a blue T shirt, dark blue shorts, black sneakers, and black fingerless gloves, Jake went into the living room, and began watching TV. On the day of a ten year old's journey start, most would find this strange.

Well, Jake had eaten breakfast, had brushed his teeth and hair, and had dressed. Basically, he was ready. If you looked at his hair you wouldn't be able to tell this. It was short, red, and very messy no matter how many times the brush went through it.

Right now, Jake's mom was watching a soap opera, crying. Weather it was about the soap or about her son leaving was hard to tell. Still, she cried. Her Persian had been curled up close to her, but now it had moved away to nap elsewhere.

"Jynx, jynx." Mira Brook's caretaking Pokemon patted Mira on the arm, handing her a tissue.

"I know, but I'll miss him!" She cried one last time before blowing her nose.

Jake couldn't help but breathe in through his nose, and just stare at the TV. "Mom, I'll be fine on my journey. It's not the end of the world, okay?"

"Huh?" His mother looked at him in confusion. "I know that the world's not about to end, Jacob Brooks! But, Leonard's leaving!"

"What?" Jake cried. "Who's Leonard?"

His mother blew her nose again. "He's leaving Deborah. But, why?"

Jake rolled his eyes, finally figuring it out. Then again, it was good to not worry his mother. She would miss him, and having her show it would not be the greatest. In a bout a half hour he would be on his way to get his first Pokemon.

**. . . . . . .**

Thirty-eight year old Arren Keats stirred the two cups of tea, and smiled at her nephew. It would be very quiet without him around, and she would be missing him.

Her nephew, Darren, had been living with her ever since his mother had died of cancer when he was two. Darren's father had left town before that, leaving the child in the guardianship of his aunt. This was not a bad thing, especially since the two were very close.

Darren was a slim, kind of pale boy with slightly messy auburn hair and sapphire-blue eyes. He was the quiet type, who definitely thought more than he spoke. He wore sensible clothing like now. A green shirt, pale denim jeans, and black trainers. A locket that had once belonged to his mother dangled around his neck, a prized possession.

Though not quiet, Arren wasn't a loud mouth either, but a very independent woman. She had long black hair and crimson eyes that were calm, but serious. Arren had once been a star Pokeathlonist and breeder, having several of her own Pokemon.

Pharoh, her Persian was basking in the sunlight in the backyard at that moment. Her Nidoqueen, Queentia and her Wigglytuff, Melody were also outside, either swimming in the small pool or hanging on one of the lawn chairs.

"Are you all packed and ready, Darren?" Arren asked, taking a small slurp of her chamomile tea.

Darren nodded, taking a bite of toast. "Everything's by the front door."

Arren smiled, and nodded. "Today's your big day."

Darren grinned. "Yep, it sure is."

Neither were big talkers, so the meal past with some silence, but less dialogue.

**. . . . . .**

**On the road…**

As the anchorman had said the day before, it was sunny with a few cumulus clouds. Michayla Silverfeather was glad for this as she walked on her way to the lab. She had feared that it would be a thunderstorm, something that she was deathly afraid of. Maybe because that was how her mother had passed away.

Michayla was eleven, and was starting her Pokemon journey late. She had her long black hair up in a high ponytail, and had big intelligent looking black eyes. Right now she wore a pink dress and hat, a yellow bag around her waist, black leggings, and pink shoes.

She quickened her pace as the lab came in view.

"Michayla!" A familiar voice called from behind her.

Rosie hurried up to her friend, smiling. Jocelyn came skipping on the other side of her.

"Hey!" Jocelyn greeted. "What's up?"

Michayla smiled back. "Well, we're heading to the lab, right?"

"I can't wait to get my Chikorita!" Rosie declared, throwing her fist in the air.

"Hey!" Jocelyn pointed at the lab. "What in the name of Arceus is going on?"

Up ahead, the lab looked as if Pokemon were rushing out, running to the woods behind.

**Okay, so that's it for chapter 1! It was really just to introduce the main cast of OCs. Recurring rivals will be appearing in the next chapter, of course. Please submit some recurring OCs and OCs of the Day through the PMs, everyone. Also, do review! Give suggestions if you like as well. Until next time!**


	2. Chapter 2:The Rampage of Rhydon

**Chapter 2: "Now It's Official"**

**Here's the second chapter! This was really fun to type out with all of the small stuff that happens. Again, recurring OCs are still needed and accepted through PMs only.**

Rosie, Jocelyn, and Michayla ran the rest of the way to the Pokemon lab, and burst through the doors. Sure enough, many Pokemon had jumped out of the open window, and were darting into the small, thin woods behind the lab.

In the middle of the lab, Professor Elm stood looking disoriented. An eleven year old boy with slick silver hair smiled at the girls, holding a Cyndaquil in his arms.

"What in the name of Palkia happened here?" Michayla cried, looking at the cluttered papers that were strewn all over the room. She had always expected labs to be all neat, much cleaner than her own bedroom.

The silver haired boy shrugged. "I just got here, really. Professor Elm has been standing there for a while, too."

Jocelyn ran over to the professor and waved her hand in his face. "Professor Elm? Hello?" She stomped her purple high tops onto his churchlike shoes, hard.

"Ow!" Professor Elm cried, hopping on one foot, the other held in his hand. "Ow, ow, ouch!"

"Jocelyn!" Michayla and Rosie cried, in unison.

Their friend shrugged in response. "What? It woke him up, right?"

Professor Elm shook his head, and rubbed his foot one last time. He turned his attention to the four children in the room, and blushed.

"Uh, hi." He basically whispered, surveying the mess and emptiness of the room. "As you can see, the Pokemon have escaped."

"How in the world did that happen?" Rosie asked. "Aren't there only three of them?"

Scratching his head, Elm sighed. "Well, no. You see, I originally had two of each Johto starter, but then I heard that there would be many new trainers this year. So, my old teacher, Professor Oak sent the three Kanto starters here. Then, I heard the real amount of new trainers. So, I ended up having to catch other Pokemon as well. Like Clefairy, Jigglypuff, and others." He paused, and took a deep breath.

A long pause fell onto the room, until Jocelyn broke the silence.

"No offense, Professor, but you mean to say that you weren't able to keep some Pokemon contained in pokeballs?" She cried, and her curly hair wagged. "And you call yourself a scientist!"

Professor Elm blushed even harder, turning beet red. "I know, I know! But you see, they were eating and the Misdreavus was stealing food, and they all ran off for Route 29." Elm turned and frowned sheepishly at the fire type that the silver haired boy held. "Except for Cyndaquil, but he's pretty mild mannered."

The silver haired boy grinned and nodded, which caused his long hair to shake out. "I figured that. That's why I picked him." He looked over at Jocelyn. "You're certainly the outspoken one."

Rosie got a good look at the boy, and took in his silver and blue outfit. His golden brown eyes were nearly hidden beneath the blue hat that he wore. He looked to be slightly older than Rosie, maybe by a year.

She was about to ask him his name, but Jocelyn beat her to it. "What's that supposed to mean?" The short girl pouted, narrowing her grayish hazel eyes into a glare. She stopped glaring and quickly turned back to Professor Elm as if she remembered something. "Hang on! You had a Misdreavus?"

"And random, too it seems." The silver haired boy replied under his breath.

Collapsing into a chair, Professor Elm sighed and nodded. "Yes, yes. If it's not too much to ask, could you please look for them? I know that it sounds pretty unprofessional, but I'm desperate!" He hung his head and took a deep breath. "They ran out for Route 29."

Michayla was the first to nod. "Yeah, we'll do that. Meanwhile, Professor, you should get some ice for your foot. Jocelyn's kicks hurt!" After grabbing a few of the pokeballs on the lab table, She raced out the door, her shiny black ponytail flying up in the wind.

Without a word, Jocelyn raced after her. Rosie stopped at the door when the silver haired boy called to her.

"By the way," He began, standing up straight. "The name's Vergil. Vergil Hawkins. And you are?"

Rosie smiled, warmly. "Oh, I'm Rosie Greene." To Rosie, the Vergil guy's appearance was odd, but he seemed okay. "See ya around!"

**. . . . . .**

On his way to the lab, Kuro wasn't expecting to be blasted by water. It was completely random! He'd been walking down the dusty road, whistling "Yankee Doodle" to himself when he had been blasted backwards by water.

"Hey!" Kuro cried, jumping up. "What's the big idea!" He was soaking wet, and his clothes clung to him like a second skin.

Kuro was thankful that his pendant was tucked underneath his shirt, and hadn't been touched by the water, but still! The culprit, a Totodile, hopped out of the bushes grinning madly. He was followed by a quiet Munchlax, a sneering Misdreavus, and cawing Murkrow.

Groaning and glaring, Kuro advanced towards the Pokemon, his fists raised. "I'm going to kill you, you-!"

That was when Jake and Darren came walking down the road, both eying Kuro and the Pokemon with surprise and curiosity. Jocelyn came running from the other direction, screeching to a halt when she saw the scene as well.

Darren had his hands stuffed in his pockets, and looked the scene over, calmly. "Okay, uh, Kuro?"

Jocelyn threw one of the pokeballs that she had grabbed from the lab, and managed to capture the still sneering Misdreavus in it. "Gotcha!" The girl did a quick victory dance before stuffing the pokeball in her jean pocket. "Yes! I caught Misdreavus!"

"Jocelyn?" Jake cried, looking from Kuro to the Pokemon. "Uh, Kuro is your name, right?"

Shaking water off his brown hair, Kuro nodded sullenly. "Yeah, sure." He turned his attention angrily back to the Totodile who now advenced towards him, laughing. "What's so funny?"

The Totodile shrugged, and kept on laughing. Behind him, the Munchlax and Murkrow came over to both Jake and Darren, staring at the two humans with curiousity. Totodile jumped into Kuro's arms, and laughed some more.

"Totodile!" He cried, squirting a tiny bit of water onto Kuro's face. "Dile, totodile!"

**. . . . . . . . .**

Cole walked swiftly past Oddish, and through a grassy field, simply booming with energy. Sunkern and Hoppip were grazing underneath the golden rays of sunshine and Combee were buzzing from tree to tree, looking for honey.

Even with an outdated map, Cole had a feeling that New Bark Town was definitely close. He walked faster just thinking about it.

As the road kept winding and Cole kept walking he soon saw that he was leaving the field and entering a more craggy area. The terrain was quite rocky, and lined with boulders. Geodude were imitating rocks, and blending right in.

"Well, I'll have to get used to traveling to new areas." Cole remarked to himself, stopping for a quick break.

Just then, an orange, small Pokemon ran out from between two giant rough boulders, fear evident in its huge eyes. It ran at Cole, and grabbed on tightly to his jeans. "Char! Char!"

Cole, surprised, knelt down beside the Pokemon. "Whoa! Well, you're in shock? What's wrong?" He patted it a few times in order to calm it, but it kept breathing hard and kept his eyes on the odd rock formation.

The formation moved, causing Cole to jump. It stood up tall, now looking like a large rocky creature with horns. It narrowed small eyes at Cole, and let out a mighty roar of fury. Lumbering towards Cole and the orange Pokemon, it crumbled gravel and stones under its heavy feet.

"Rhydon!" It let out another roar as it charged at Cole.

**. . . . . . . . .**

Jogging quickly down a path lined with trees, Rosie's light amber eyes darted everywhere. She had been chasing after Michayla and Jocelyn, but her short curly haired friend had gone in another direction, while the taller raven haired beauty had run straight ahead.

In her mind, Rosie cursed for ever having joined the track team with Michayla. "Darn you!"

Rosie kept on running, glad that she was wearing running shoes. A pokeball was held firmly in one of her hands, and she had her Pokegear in the other. She ran faster, kicking up dust and gravel. That's when she collided with a boy.

"Owww!" The boy cried out both in shock and pain. "What just hit me?"

Rosie recovered from the collision first, and stood up. The boy had spiky black hair and his eyes were closed shut. He was dressed quite plainly, and Rosie wondered why he had his arms crossed over his chest, holding some sort of bag. She then realized that he was holding a tired looking Charmander in his arms.

"Oh my Dialga!" Rosie cried, grabbing the boy around the arm. "Are you okay? I'm so so sorry! I was in such a hurry! Is that Charmander alright? Are you okay?" She was acting as hyper as Jocelyn which was definitely not a good thing.

The boy allowed Rosie to tug him up to a standing position and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I was just heading for New Bark Town, if you know where it is."

"Yeah! I do!" Rosie cried, nodding fiercely. "Is your Charmander all right?"

"I'm not too sure." The boy replied, staring down at the orange fire type. "We both got into a rough squabble with a Rhydon. It was after us for awhile, but we might have outran it."

Rosie nodded, looking behind the boy to see for herself. In the far distance, she could make out a large Pokemon chasing something familiar. Maybe just another Pokemon? Squinting more Rosie saw a human figuire run behind a tree, long black hair flowing in a ponytail. It looked like... Michayla!

"I've got to go back!"Rosie cried, pointing towards the chase. "One of my best friends is over there!"

The boy looked to where her point was directed, and shook his head grimly. "Honestly, I never expected Pokemon to be so agressive." He turned back to Rosie, and sighed. "I'm really sorry about your friend, but there's nothing that we can do. Even if Charmander was feeling fit, I do recall reading that rock is strong against fire. We just have to hurry and get help."

Rosie shook her own head, and looked back. "No. I can't leave Michayla here. Can you go grab help while I try to distract Rhydon? Please?"

Cole looked at Rosie hard, and nodded slowly. "Okay, but you need to be careful. Duck behind rocks and trees when it tries to attak. That's what I did." He was just about to run down the road when Charmander cried out in alarm.

"Char!" It cried raising its head up. "Charmander!" It hopped out of Cole's arms and landed on the ground. "Char!"

"Are you certain that you'refit enough?" Cole asked, looking down at Charmander with a look of impress. When Charmander nodded, Cole looked to Rosie. "Alright, we'll help. We'll run and get help."

. . . . . .

Rosie rushed down a rocky hill, down to the field with yellow grass below. This field was full of hard rocks and boulders, with only one tree. It ended in a cliff that overlooked a more green field. As she got closer, she saw that Michayla was now standing behind the wide oak tree. She wasn't alone though.

Attacking the Rhydon were two small Pokemon, a blue bird with cotton wings that Rosie couldn't recognize, and a small green grass type with a big leaf on its head. Rosie knew that one too well.

"Chikor!"Chikorita slammed Rhydon in the side with Vine Whip, and jumped back to duck Mega Kick. "Chi!"

Michayla came from behind the tree with a thick looking stick in one hand, a look of fear in her dark eyes. She saw Rosie and gasped in relief. "Rosie! Go get help! Hurry!"

"Don't worry!" Rosie called back in a rush. "Help's coming!"

"Swab!" The blue bird Pokemon flapped its wings and let out a Gust attack. This certainly did nothing to Rhydon, who simply batted the Pokemon away. "Blu!" The blue Pokemon smacked into the oak tree, and fell down limply onto the yellow grass.

Michayla ran from behind her cover and scooped up the still Pokemon in her arms, Rosie following right behind her. "What are we supposed to do?"

Rhydon towered over Michayla and the fallen Pokemon, and raised its rocky fist. "Rhy!"

"Chikor!" Before Rhydon could attack, a vine came from behind and slashed him on the shoulder. Chikorita sent out Razor Leaf, and managed to leave a few scratches on Rhydon. "Chik!"

Its attention now on Chikorita, Rhydon turned its attack on it as well. It stomped the ground around Chikorita, and the grass type had to run in the opposite direction. Chikorita now stood on the steep cliff, a look of helplesness on its face. Rhydon prepared to use Mega Kick.

"No!" Rosie cried out loud, half running and half falling towards Chikorita. She close her arms on the grass type and held her tightly in her arms, ducking the Mega Kick by an inch.

Rhydon stomped again, and the steep cliff began to creak under its weight.

Rosie heard a crumble, and the next thing she knew, she was falling.

**Cliffhanger! Only one OC appeared in this chapter, but more should show up in either chapter 4 or 5. This update was really slow, but the next one should be much faster.**


	3. Chapter 3: Pre Journey Battle

**Chapter 3: Post Journey Battles**

Rosie screamed as loud as possible, with her arms holding Chikorita to her chest, tightly. The bottom of the cliff was coming, and Rosie had a feeling that she was going to die. Suddenly, Rosie felt Chikorita give a jerk in her arms, and they were going up now, almost as if being pulled up with a rope.

After opening her eyes, Rosie now saw what it was. The leaf on Chikorita's head had stretched all the way up the cliff, and it must've wrapped itself around something. Chikorita herself was also able to bring them back up that way.

She must've known that Rosie was staring at her, since she turned her light green head to smile at the girl. "Chika!" Eventually, both of them were back on the grassy meadow, and though Rosie was worried about the raging Rhydon, she didn't have to.

Jocelyn was taking care of it with three kids that Rosie recognized from school; Jocelyn's cousin, Jake, and two good friends of Rosie, Darren and Kuro. All four of them had Pokémon with them as well, who were battling the Rhydon with teamwork.

"Use that shadow thing again, Misdreavus!" Jocelyn called in her excited way.

Misdreavus looked at the small girl with a look of confusion evident in her yellow eyes. "Mis?" She hovered in the air, awaiting an answer.

Jake, who was close to the two, whispered to her, "Jocelyn, the move's called Shadow Ball."

"Oh," Jocelyn's cheeks didn't go red, but she did stare at her high tops for a full five seconds before calling out the next command. "Forget the earlier task, Misdreavus, and use Shadow Ball at full force, okay?"

Misdreavus smiled, and shot out a ghostly ball of darkness. "Mis!" The ball spun in around the massive rock type before finally clashing into his rocky head. The Rhydon rubbed at his head with a craggy arm, groaning. This made Misdreavus float higher with slight joy. "Misdreavus!"

"Go ahead and use Water Gun at full force, Totodile!" Kuro called, grinning confidently.

Totodile, who was through hitting Kuro with water, let out a shock of liquid directed at Rhydon's head. Rhydon fell onto his stomach, and Totodile clapped his hands a few times before jumping into Kuro's arms. "Toto! Toto!"

Kuro smiled at the water type, and patted his scaly head. "Good job."

As this went on, Rosie ran to Michayla, who was still standing by the wide oak tree, holding Swablu protectively in her arms. Michayla looked pretty shaken up, and her black hair was coming out of its ponytail. Rosie patted her friend's arm comfortingly.

"You okay?" She asked, concern noticeable in her blue-green eyes.

Michayla nodded, shaking. "Yeah, but I was plenty scared earlier." Michayla wasn't the type to admit this, but she could to one of her closest friends. "I'm fine now, really." She gestured to the others with her head. "Those guys showed up while you were falling. I think that the Charmander kid told them about this situation."

Both Rosie and Michayla looked at the fallen Rhydon, as did their Pokémon. Rhydon looked as if it were close to be knocked out, but not quite. He was attempting to jump to its feet, but Darren and Jake were able to prevent that.

"Murkrow, knock Rhydon down with a good Peck to the chest, please." Darren said in a loud voice.

"Mur!" Murkrow flew off of Darren's shoulder, and sharpened his beak as he flew at Rhydon. His yellow crooked beak jabbed into Rhydon's chest, knocking him back to the ground. "Murkrow!" Murkrow flew back towards Darren, and landed neatly onto his arm.

"And use Metronome, Munchlax!" Jake called, biting his lip. He was hoping that Munchlax would deliver a sleep move, and it appeared that hope was with them on that thought. As Munchlax waggled his teal fingers, a beam hit Rhydon and he soon fell to the ground again, asleep. Jake jumped for joy in the air, and high fived Munchlax. "Awesome job!"

Rosie, holding Chikorita in her arms still, ran over to the kids, followed closely by Michayla and Swablu. "Wow! You guys were really great out there. Thanks!" She smiled brightly.

"Hey, no problem." Kuro stated, still holding Totodile. He glanced at the sleeping Rhydon, and frowned. "Come on, we should get the heck out of here before that craggy thing wakes up."

"That's an idea."

…

Back in Elm's lab, Professor Elm was beaming with joy when he saw their arrival. He returned each of the Pokémon to their Pokéballs, congratulating the kids the entire time. The boy from earlier, Cole, was there as well, and though he didn't say so, he looked pleased to see them alive.

"Well, you're really not from New Bark, are you?" Elm asked, raising his eyebrows at the boy. When Cole nodded, he continued. "That Charmander is healed fully, and he seems to like you. Really, I'd like you to have him. It'll be dangerous for you to wander around without a Pokémon, son."

"Really?" Cole looked up at Elm with his light blue eyes, looking surprised. "Thank you, Professor." He didn't question the man too much, but he did add one more thing. "Um, why are you giving him to me?"

Elm smiled, and picked a red Pokédex and five small Pokéballs from the lab table in front of him. "For one thing, you brought him here to be healed, which shows that you care for Pokémon. Plus, you notified those kids about the Rhydon, and they were able to save two others because of that." Elm placed the Pokédex in Cole's hands. "And last of all, why not? It's not just New Bark kids who get Pokémon, you know."

Cole smiled, and looked down at the Pokédex that he had just received. "Thank you, sir." He placed it into his backpack carefully, and stuffed the five Pokéballs in there as well. He swung the backpack over his shoulder, and held Charmander's Pokeball in his hand. He turned and headed to the glass doors of the lab. Looking over his shoulder he said, " I'll be heading out now, but I just might run into a few of you. Maybe…"

Rosie stared after the boy with confused eyes. "I wonder what he meant by that."

Jocelyn, who had also been staring, shrugged her shoulders and looked away. "Who knows?" She turned her bright green eyes to look evenly at Professor Elm. "So, Elm, can we _please _choose our starters now?" Before Elm could reply, Jocelyn scooped Misdreavus' Pokeball up in her hands. "I'm taking this one!"

Darren and Jake both raised eyebrows at their small friend, but they also grabbed the Pokéballs of their two Pokémon partners from earlier. Murkrow for Darren, and Munchlax for Jake.

Meanwhile, Elm wrote this all down on his clipboard, and handed Pokédexes and Pokéballs to the three new trainers. "Have fun out there in the world, you three."

Darren nodded, and cracked a small smile. "Of course we will."

Jake nodded to Kuro and the girls. "We have your Pokégear numbers, so we can call each other on the road often. And, hey, we'll meet up eventually. Johto is a pretty small region." Both boys turned to walk out of the lab doors as well.

"Are you kidding me?" Jocelyn ran up and grabbed Jake by the sleeve of his jacket. "I'm coming with you, cousin, whether you like it or not." She grabbed her backpack, and turned to speak to Michayla and Rosie. "I'll call you guys this evening, and we'll keep in touch of course." She did a small wink before following both Jake and Darren out of the lab.

Now, only three kids were left, and it was obvious which of the Pokémon that they were going to choose. Michayla stepped forward first, and picked up Swablu's Pokeball with a smile. She put it into the pocket of her short pink dress. After receiving her Pokédex and Pokéballs, she turned to also leave the lab.

"Michayla, wait!" Rosie called out as Kuro picked up Totodile's Pokeball. Once Michayla had stopped walking, and had turned around, Rosie continued. "I thought we were going to travel together. Remember ? We planned that back when we were eight."

It was true. Both girls had decided to stick together once they left home, and even pinky promised each other during one of their weekly hair-braiding, hot chocolate drinking sleepovers. Still, two years could change a person, which Rosie worried about.

Michayla smiled wistfully at her best friend. "Rosie, I do remember, and I want to travel with you. But, right now, I' have to get tougher. Once I'm a tough trainer, I'll join you and maybe we can get Jocelyn to come along." Biting her lip she began to walk out the doors once more. "Until then, I have to travel alone for once…" She soon departed, and was gone.

Rosie was confused by her friend's leave, but she could understand. Michayla was always getting scared and excited easily, but what had made her want to be reclusive all of a sudden? Did it have to do with the earlier squabble with the Rhydon? As she stepped up and received Chikorita, Pokédex, and Pokéballs, Rosie pondered on this.

She finally decided to stop worrying as she left the lab and stepped out into the sunny outdoors. Pidgey were singing in sweet notes, flowers were smelling fresh, and everything felt great…mainly. Of course, Rosie couldn't worry about it, and she had to focus on the future, which would nonetheless be fun.

As she walked towards her house to say goodbye to her family one last time, Kuro called out to her. "Rosie!" She turned to look at the brown haired boy. "Listen, if you want, you can come along with me. I'm heading to Violet City, and I bet that Michayla and the others are, too. So, how about it?"

Rosie smiled at Kuro. "Sounds like a plan."

**I haven't updated this story in forever, and I promise to do it frequently. No OCs appeared this time, but a couple will in the next chapter. Here are a few things to say below.**

**Tyltalis: I hope that Michayla's personality was portrayed well. She'll serve as a slight trainer rival for now, but she'll show up in most chapters.**

**ShugoPoke13: Could you resend your OC through the PM? She'll have to be a recurring rival, but edit her Pokémon list. Also, I hope that Clefairy is okay as her starter!**

**LoveSaphira: Your OC will appear in the next chapter for sure.**

**Overall, I hope that the character portrayals were excellent. I might update tomorrow or next weekend, but it truly does depend. I've been extremely busy with school, friends, and just life in general. But, I'm back.**

**To those of you who submitted OCs to my Digimon story, I'll be deleting it due to both writer's block and the fact that I'm not too interested in continuing the story. Other than that, watch out for the next Johto Journey's update **


	4. Chapter 4: First Captures of the Journey

**Chapter 4: The First Captures of the Journey!**

With his hands stuffed deep into the pockets of his denim jeans, and with his head tilted slightly to the side, Kurogasa observed the Pidgey that stood on the ground several yards away from him. Whether it knew that Kuro was there or not was difficult to tell, since the Pidgey was busy pecking at tiny seeds that were sprinkled across the grassy floor like rain.

Doing his best to be silent, Kuro crept closer towards the Pidgey, fishing an empty Pokeball out of his jeans along with his Totodile's. He hurled the latter's through the air, and it landed on the grass a few feet ahead of him, close to the wild Pidgey. Totodile emerged from the red glow of the Pokeball, and immediately took a stance and kept his jaws pointed towards Pidgey.

"Totodile!" Totodile cried with his mouth opened wide. His move revealed sharp sets of pearly-white teeth that reflected the sunlight. The water type jumped up and down a few times while clapping his hands before turning towards his trainer, awaiting orders of any kind. "To?"

"Use Water Gun, right away!" Kuro called, throwing his fist in the air. He was feeling extremely energetic, but kept his cool as his starter threw the wild flying type back. With his heart pulse racing as fast as a motorbike, Kuro grinned and called out another request. "Now, run at Pidgey and use it again!"

Water spurting in every direction, Totodile dashed towards Pidgey with huge stomps. As the Water Gun sailed in his direction, Pidgey flew out of harm's way and into the open air. "Pidgey!" It twirled a few times before diving towards the grass to deliver a hasty Peck to Totodile's red spines. "Pid!" Pidgey turned around and headed in Totodile's direction once more.

Kuro had a strategy, and he knew for a fact that it would work. "Use Water Gun at full force, into its beak!" Totodile obeyed, and Pidgey was unable to attack as his mouth was absolutely overflowing with liquid. With a mighty thrash of his wings, the plump bodied Pokémon crash landed into the grass, struggling to recover. This was his chance, and Kuro wasn't about to miss it. With the agility of a stampeding Tauros, Kuro threw the Pokeball right at Pidgey. "Go, Pokeball!"

Bopping Pidgey right on the very tip of its beak, Pidgey was immediately sucked into the odd ball of technology. The Pokeball fell into the grass where it rolled, back and forth. Kuro clenched his fists in anticipation while Totodile hopped up and down due to nerves. Finally, there was a final click sound as the Pokémon was officially caught.

"Yes!" Filled to the brim with a rushing sense of pride and joy, Kuro scooped the Pokeball up in his hands, and did a little jig alongside his Totodile. "I caught my very first Pokémon!" After doing one long leap over to where Rosie, Petals, and their bags were sitting beside a large oak tree, Kuro stuffed the Pokeball into the side pocket of his white backpack.

"That was pretty excellent, Kuro." Rosie complimented, getting to her feet with her Chikorita in her arms. "Especially for your very first caught Pokémon. From what I hear, most newbies aren't able to catch a thing for at least two days."

Kuro grinned at his friend and shrugged his shoulders in a casual way. "Well, hey! Maybe I'm a born natural at this?" After returning Totodile to his Pokeball, Kuro slung his backpack over his shoulders and rubbed the Suicune pendant around his neck for luck. "So, how close are we to Cherrygrove City?"

…

The other just-left-home trainers were also doing very well for the first few hours of their Pokémon journeys. Jake, Jocelyn, and Darren all had excellent wild Pokémon encounters that ended with new captures. Right after leaving New Bark, the three met up with a small herd of quick Rattata.

"Wow!" Jake exclaimed, jumping onto a flat concrete bench to escape a dashing Rattata. The soles of his brand new sneakers scratched against the bench, but he still managed to pull both Darren and Jocelyn onto the rocky seat as well, and the three of them watched the fast Rattata with similar open mouthed expressions. "There are at least a dozen."

"And they're quick?" Jocelyn added with her hands placed slightly on her tiny hips. She cocked her head to the side as she surveyed the normal types with a look of wonderment and curiousity. "Either of you plan on catching one?" She asked, looking up at either boy.

Jake was quick to shake his head. "Definitely not. They're cool and everything, but way too common. Plus, I've already got Munchlax for a normal type." He glanced at Darren. "How about you, D.B?"

Darren's expression turned into one of completely deep thoughts. With a nod, he hopped off of the thing that kept them safe from the dashing, and right in the way of the leanest and quickest Rattata. With a quick swoop of his hand, Darren managed to snatch a single Pokeball from the pocket of his denim jeans, and hurl right at the afore mentioned rat.

"Ratt!" The lean Rattata squealed shrilly with surprise as the Pokeball came into contact with him and sucked his purple body right into it. With a dull thud, the Pokeball fell into the deep grass, and shook their for one entire, dragging minute. Darren knelt down and picked the Pokeball up once it did the customary click.

He ignored the rest of the Rattata who were all now clearing out of the area to scurry into bushes that lined outward fields. Darren smiled slightly, as he gazed down at his newly caught Pokémon. "Hm, I think I'll call this one…Edge." He clipped the Pokeball to his dark backpack and looked at the others with raised eyebrows. "What now?"

"Well, it's always an excellent idea to catch a new Pokémon on your first day of traveling." Jocelyn said, hopping off the defense bench with her cousin. She placed her hands back onto her hips as she usually did, and went on as they began to walk in the direction of the next town. "At least, that's what my mom always said. And she would know, she's written at least eight different books on Pokémon training." She looked each boy in the eye, daring them to disagree.

"Fine, fine!" Jake raised his hands to his chest in defense. "Whatever you say, Joyce!"

Down the first route of Johto, the trio of children went, each with the goal to catch more Pokémon and to improve as a person and trainer. Jocelyn led the way, marching and whistling a tune to herself, while both Jake and Darren followed while talking about their plans for the future. Though the personalities of the three ten year olds clashed, all three had been good friends in school, plus Jake and Jocelyn were cousins on their father's side.

None of this confirmed that there wouldn't be rough edges on their journey, but it didn't clarify just how difficult it would be either.

"What I really want is a Butterfree." Jocelyn stated, kicking a pebble for no apparent reason down the dust ridden path. She also kicked up dirt in the process, but paid no mind as her high top sneakers grew dirtier by the minute. "But, I'd have to raise it from a Caterpie, right?"

"Last time I checked, they don't evolve from Weedle." Jake muttered, speeding up to walk alongside her. The next city was in sight at this point.

Cherrygrove City was small, but had the usual Pokémon Center and mart. Soon, with their Pokémon healed up and their bags stocked well, the trainers were once more on the road. The day was still young and fresh, plus it wouldn't be lunchtime for one more hour. So, it made plenty sense to get as close to the nearest Pokémon gym as possible.

Spearow and Pidgey were encountered, but that was generally it. Eventually, they passed a pond where several different Pokémon were playfully wading the water. Jocelyn, excited, hurried to the pond where a single Marill frolicked alone. Meanwhile, Darren had his eyes on a round Poliwag who was already waddling in his direction in a friendly way.

"Pol, pole!" With dark eyes shining brightly like twinkling like stars, Poliwag tottered over to Darren, who knelt down to his level. His tiny, plump pink lips turned upwards into a friendly smile, and its eyes kept on twinkling oddly. "Poly?"

Darren smiled in return, and placed his hand lightly on the top of Poliwag's slippery blue head. "Hey there. Going for a swim, huh?"

Poliwag nodded his head a bit, and chattered in his form of Pokéspeak. "Poli, pole."

While Darren traded words with the slippery water type, Jake watched as Jocelyn entered Marill into a capturing based battle. Her Misdreavus, Mildred, was already floating a few feet in the air above the pond, casting a move on Marill with her eerie, yellow eyes.

"Mis, mis!" Swaying softly in the wind, Mildred uttered a little chant as her version of Confuse Ray took place. Through Mildred's captivating gaze, tiny, nearly corporeal seeming waves of yellow rings seemed to transfer right into the wild Marill, whose expression immediately shifted from astonishment to a pure blinking dazed look. Mildred looked pleased as Marill tottered around in a completely confused state.

"Mildred, stand back, please." Jocelyn instructed in a clear, loud voice. As she spoke, her Misdreavus floated to her side and a Pokeball was prepared. Soon it was sailing through the air, and within seconds it managed to come into contact with its target. Marill was sucked in without a moment's pause. As soon as the Pokeball clicked shut, Jocelyn scooped it up with her face alight with a proud smile. "Yay! I caught a Marill!"

She dashed back to the boys, Mildred floating after her and the New Pokémon still being kept in its Pokeball. Soon, the trio was back on their way to Violet City, shifting from brisk walks to quick and steady jogs. However, the three ended up stopping shortly, when they were aware of tiny footsteps behind them. Darren looked over his shoulder and was a little surprised to see the same Poliwag from earlier, who had an eager look in his eyes.

"Polly!" Poliwag waddled up to Darren and hopped a few times, pointing his feet in every direction. His long, translucent tail flapped upwards as the tadpole jumped for joy. When his little dance was finished, he looked up at Darren, as if to communicate something.

Darren, his eyebrows raised and confused, knelt down once more to the Poliwag's eye level. "I don't really get it, but do you want to come along or something?"

"Polly! Pole, pole!" Poliwag chattered and continued nodding eagerly, with his tail still wagging behind him. He looked up at Darren one last time, his expression through with playfulness. Now it was extremely serious and alert.

Smiling slightly, Darren got a Pokeball ready and tapped its button against Poliwag. Poliwag's pink lips formed another small smile one last time before he was sapped right into the technologically advanced container. The Pokeball instantly clicked shut, and Poliwag was officially captured.

"Excellent," Jake commented, regarding his best friend with an agreeing grin. "Two captures in one day, huh?" As their jogging journey started up for the third time that day, Jake kept an eye out for any possible captures for himself. Nothing struck his attention much, but it was only the first day of traveling. "Better luck tomorrow I suppose."

The tall, tiered houses with their paintjobs of violet and dark purple hues, of the well known Violet City were becoming visible as the city itself was neared. Their surroundings soon shifted from wildlife to urban as Jocelyn, Jake, and Darren arrived and took the city in. From its old styled vibe to its dull gray streets and tiny shops, Violet City wasn't all that bad. And settled in the very middle of all this was the first Pokémon gym of Johto.

Tomorrow, Darren and Jocelyn planned on challenging it, but that would be a whole other story and time.

…

Concealed by thick bushes and close knit trees, Michayla prepared to catch a Pokémon as well. She was on the lowest branch of a tree, which was only eight feet of the ground, with her Swablu, Song, settled 0on a sort of perch right next to her. With a Pokeball raised high in the palm of her right hand, Michayla held herself in place with the left and watched as a small Growlithe wandered close to the base of the tree she was on.

Growlithe sniffed at the flowers growing near the tree roots, making little yipping sounds. He was obviously young, with a gorgeous orange-red coat that shone and gleamed underneath the afternoon sun's gentle rays. His front legs were furry and thick, whereas his back legs were quite lean, ensuring that he would be swift and agile in battle.

Michayla admired the Growlithe from her spot as the gingery coated fire type continued sniffing. His nose quest led him to sniff the very base of Michayla and Song's tree, which led him to begin making low growling noises. He looked up and gave the trainer and Swablu a curious look. However, he soon began toy ip at them surprising Michayla and nearly causing her to lose her balance.

"Quick, Song," She managed to yell as she regained steadiness. She clung to the branch tightly with one hand along with her legs to keep from slipping. "Use Peck!"

Her Swablu ruffled his cotton feathers before swooping down with a powered up, drill-like beak. He was able to deliver the pecking blow, and was nearly knocked down by an impressive Fire Spin. However, Song managed to evade and use the next move, Sing.

"Blu!" Song raised his parrot-like beak into the air, and allowed a song of drift out. There were no lyrics, at least not in English, but the musical notes were very soft and soothing. Even Michayla found herself struggling to stay awake, however she nodded off a bit just like the wild Growlithe. In doing so, the Pokeball in her hand slipped out and collided right into the snoozing Growlithe. He was sucked in, and because of the sleeping state, was instantly captured.

With a single droning beep sound, the Pokeball fell into the tall grass surrounding the tree, which awakened a drowsy Michayla. She half stumbled off of the tree, and managed a smile of glee when she saw he full Pokeball. She fist pumped and gestured for Song, whom quickly swooped down to rest on his trainer's shoulder. Together, the two skipped to Violet City, bellowing out a sort of victory song.

**The OC who was supposed to appear didn't this time around, but they will next chapter for sure. I hope that that this chapter was entertaining enough! I'll update sooner, but only if I manage to get about…four reviews!**


	5. Chapter 5: The Marvelous Mr Pokemon

**Chapter 5: The Marvelous Mr. Pokemon!**

"This is just great!" Rosie's slightly shrill voice was laced with joy as she spoke. She pushed the sleeves of her pink shirt up, allowing the rays of the bright sun contact with her arms. "The sun's warm, my family is happy even with my present absence, and we are almost to Violet City!" She did a twirl with her toes pointing, though this was concealed by her pink tennis shoes.

Kuro fiddled with the map app of his own Pokégear before stating the honest truth. Actually, Rose, we're not as close as you would think. I mean, we just left Cherrygrove ten minutes ago. Remember?" He gazed at his traveling companion with questioning blue eyes.

Rosie sucked her bottom lip before heaving a sigh. _Boys can be total buzz kills at times, _she thought to herself, flashing Kuro a reproachful look. Out loud she said, "The point is, Kuro, we're being grown ups and taking control."

"You've been saying that ever since we left home." Kuro grinned at her antics in an honest way. "Dio you plan on continuing into the week?"

"Sure," Rosie shrugged. "Why not?"

The grass that they trudged through grew tall and scraggly over time, though Kuro and Rosie didn't mind too much. Though they were used to their own manicured lawns, they figured that Pokémon would not be too capable of using a lawn mower. It wasn't as if the tall weeds would last forever, right?

As it usually was, the answer was yes. There were endless miles of tall grass, all of which was marched through with determination by the two beginners. Though their legs grew tired and began to feel like squares of jelly, they kept on going.

It did become too much, with Rosie being the first to slump at the thick roots of a sturdy, tall tree. Taking deep breaths, she pushed a few stray strands of blondish-brown hair out of her face and behind her ear. She gazed carefully at their surroundings while Kuro sat down beside her and fished water bottles from his pack.

"We're getting nowhere!" She said with a groan, accepting a bottle from Kuro. Though she took it in her hands, she only squeezed it tightly, not bothering to open it. This contrasted with Kuro, who was quick to pull open the plastic top of his bottle to take several swigs. Rosie ignored this and went on. "We've been walking for at least an hour, and Violet City is nowhere in sight!"

"Well, the cheers of independence are through, huh?" Kuro asked meekly, averting his gaze as Rosie glared at him. He shrugged his thin shoulders, and finally frowned at her. "What? I'm just saying! We'll be fine, Rosie. We just need to rest, and we'll hopefully be okay."

"You certainly should be!" A gruff voice boomed, startling Kuro and Rosie. Both children looked in all directions, searching for the speaker. Through the now blazing sun, their eyes managed to make out the form of a man who was coming their way. He was rather portly, it seemed, and was definitely shorter than Rosie's father. As he came closer, Rosie acknowledged the man's age of what she guessed to be early sixties. "Hello there! I take it that you're new trainers, eh?"

Both nodded, surprised by the elderly man's loud voice.

"Came from New Bark Town, I expect?" He didn't await an answer this time before continuing on. "Elm's a good friend of mine, and a rather brilliant scientist. Still, my findings are a little on the more interesting side. At least I think so!" He let out a hearty laugh before sticking out a hand to introduce himself. "I'm known as Mr. Pokémon to most, though my given name happens to be Frank. Still, why break a habit?"

A little energized, Kuro stood up, closing his half empty water bottle. "I've heard of you!" He said excitedly with a grin. "You're always finding evolutionary stones and things!" After packing away his water, he quickly shook Mr. Pokémon's hand. "I'm Kurogasa, but please call me Kuro, sir." He pointed towards his traveling partner eagerly. "That's Rosie. She's also from New Bark. So you have anything new? Eggs or stones?"

While Rosie climbed to her feet and gathered her backpack, Mr. Pokémon chuckled. "Well, now that you mention it, Kuro, I do. Would either of you be interested in seeing some of my discoveries? I'm open to any audience, and my house is just beyond the trees over there." He pointed towards a thin grouping of short trees with splayed leaves.

"Oh, would we ever!" Rosie stated, just as eagerly.

As two new trainers, anything like an evolutionary stone could spark an excited and eager attention.

…**..**

The Violet City gym stood menacingly before Jake, Jocelyn, and Darren, with an odd intimidating air. It appeared that the purple tinged building wanted to scare trainers away from their first gym battle, though it could have been their imagination taking advantage of them. They couldn't let themselves become scared so easily, so they entered with plucked courage.

Well, really, only Jocelyn and Darren entered, with Jake lingering behind.

"I think I'll go catch a Hoothoot or something." He said, struggling to keep a steady grin on his face.

Darren simply shrugged and disappeared into the gym while Jocelyn narrowed her mint-green eyes suspiciously at him. "Coward." She muttered, turning to the gym, and jogging inside. Mildred hovered a few feet in the air, and stuck her tongue out at Jake playfully before zooming after her energetic trainer.

Jake sighed deeply, but decided to go on ahead and do some Pokémon searching. He wasn't a trainer like his two good friends, but he did like traveling. And he wanted string Pokémon, with whom he could enter and conquer several Pokeathlons with.

The pockets of his jeans were stuffed with his fists as he walked around town, looking for something worthwhile to do. While picking at lint, his finger accidentally pressed against something smooth, this was revealed to be Munchlax's Pokeball. The lazy eating machine popped out with a hungry look in his bright black eyes.

"Munch?" he looked up at Jake with a shining, eager look, which caused him to receive half a turkey sub in return, taken from Jake's backpack. Munchlax appeared to be excited by the gift, and showed it by stuffing the entire thing into his spacey mouth. He swallowed it in one gulp as if it were a simple snack, and rubbed his teal, round stomach.

"Guess you enjoyed that, huh?" Jake smiled, and stroked the spot in-between his starter's bat-like ears. "Let's go look for some battles, or a wild Pokémon at least. Okay, pal?"

Munchlax looked at his empty paws disappointedly, but he managed a nod and followed his trainer in an unknown direction. Jake didn't know where he was going, but there appeared to be a landmark nearby, marked with a sign that read as 'Ruins of Alph".

…**..**

"Amazing!" Kuro had his face pressed against one of the many glass cases that protected several oddly shaped rocks. Once he had removed himself from the glass, it was evident that the glass was resistant to nose smudges, since it was still clean and shiny. Kuro failed to notice due to his excitement. It was fascinating to be inside a notable Pokémon maniac's home. And to see their collection was even better!"

"I know, right?" Mr. Pokémon agreed with Kuro immediately, and chuckled. "Those stones are able to boost up the powers of certain Pokémon types and moves during battles. But, I have yet to use them." He looked over at Rosie who was examining the platter of Pokémon eggs that were hooked up to a machine. "I usually give out the newly hatched babies to trainers, though I usually keep a few as my own."

At that moment, a Blissey entered the collection room of Mr. Pokémon's peaceful two story home. She appeared to be carrying a tray of iced tea, which Mr. Pokémon took from her hands warmly.

"Thank you, Missy." He said, flashing a smile. "I raised her from a tiny Happiny, and she's always been eager to help me with my studies and discoveries."After setting the tray onto the oak coffee table in the room, he cleared his throat and returned attention to the eggs. "Anyway, would you like one of the eggs, Rosie?"

Rosie was surprised by the sudden offer, and thought it over with wide blue-green eyes. "Gee, I don't really know. I'd love a Pokémon egg, really. But, it's bound to be a lot of work. And, I'm not really the most responsible ten year old out there." She blushed slightly, wishing to unsay that.

"You've got to be slightly responsible, to be keeping track of Mr. Kuro." Mr. Pokémon muttered, glancing at Kuro who was now weighing a Thunderstone and a Leafstone in his hands excitedly. "Anyway, I see your point. How about this; once one of them is due to hatch, I'll get Elm to notify you. I'll send it right over and it can be yours, eh?"

Rosie smiled at that idea, and nodded her head. "Okay, great!"

…**..**

The Ruins of Alph appeared to be gray stone buildings with open doorways and windows. There were scientists crawling all over the place who didn't pay Jake or Munchlax much attention. Well, they didn't until Munchlax tried to eat one guy's toolbox.

"Hey!" The official seeming scientist intimidated Jake slightly with his pristine lab coat and shiny brown shoes. But, the thought went away as the four eyed adult glared at Munchlax, and spoke in a shrill voice. "My tools are for discoveries, not eating!" He yanked the toolbox out of reach, making a disappointed look appear on the curious Munchlax's face.

"Munch…"

Jake dragged his only Pokémon away from the glaring geek, and patted him consolingly on the shoulder. "Now, buddy, help me catch a Pokémon and I'll treat you to a burger. I solemnly promise."

"You'll probably end up paying for a doctor bill rather than a resteraunt bill with that Pokémon. He'll probably eat the first Pokémon he sees." The feminine voice was located quickly, and Jake spotted a red headed girl standing in the shadow of a tall stone ancient house who giggled. She had a Mime Jr. standing beside her Converse type sneakers who giggled as well in a standard mimicking way.

Jake looked her up and down, trying to decide if her comment was meant to be a joke or an insult. The girl's hair was dark red and styled in a half up half down way. Her eyes were bright green, and Jake could note her height from where he stood. She was taller than Jocelyn by close to a foot (who wasn't?), but was still obviously shorter than him by a few inches.

Her outfit was casual with dark blue jeans, a purple sleeveless top, and a simple black jacket tied around her waist, The sun was out after all. Besides this usual info, the girl's expression was kind. She was smiling, so she must've been messing around with him.

"I'm Layla," She said, with her hands on her hips. "And that's my little Mime Jr." Her mentioned Pokémon did a bow upon being introduced, and grinned. "I'm doing some Pokémon searching too, but nothing's really peaked my interest. There's a Sentret scampering around in this house." Layla gestured towards the relic shelter beside her. "It's acting pretty timid, but a Pokeball should calm it or something."

"Really? Thanks!" Jake and Munchlax were quick to ran past the girl and into the house. They were so fast, they didn't even seem to notice the saddened look on Layla's face.

"Doesn't anyone introduce themselves anymore?" Layla whispered quietly, staring after the boy. Her Mime Jr. couldn't give a real accurate answer, so she simply sighed. "Whatever…"

…**..**

After most of Mr. Pokémon's finds were looked at, he took them out to the wide backyard where a good deal of Pokémon frolicked. Some appeared to be wild while others were evidently his own. Two Stantler were eating berries right off a bush while Hoppip bounced all over the place. A few Diglett burrowed around, and a herd of Quagmire and Wooper marched past everything.

The continual chirping of wild Pidgey reminded Kuro of his latest capture the day before, and he released both Totodile and Pidgey from their Pokéballs. The two Pokémon reacted differently to the release, with Totodile shooting small spurts of water into the air for good measure and with Pidgey looking at everything rather curiously.

Rosie released her Chikorita, Petals, from her Pokeball, deciding that some sunlight would do the Grass-type wonders. Her decision was a good one since Petals began to soak in the Vitamin D with a cheerful sunbathing Sunflora. Meanwhile, Kuro decided to do a bit of training with his Pokémon. They would definitely be in Violet City by tomorrow, so what could training do besides help?

Totodile's Water Gun was always fast, and he used it traditionally whenever he came out of his Pokeball. This could be used to his advantage for sure. And, then, Pidgey could go airborne any time during the battle, even if the first gym leader trained Flying-types. They would stand a chance, just like the many Pokémon trainers before them.

"You both are very determined." Mr. Pokémon commented, surveying both trainers with wise eyes. "Are you both challenging gyms?"

"Not really." Rosie admitted. "I'm not really into gyms or contests. I just really want to travel, and to discover interesting things like legendary Pokémon or something!" Excitement was glistening in her eyes.

"Well, that's possible." Mr. Pokémon said. "Legendary Pokémon might be rare, but most trainers encounter one on their journeys at least once in a lifetime."

"I'd like to meet Suicune." Kuro said, looking away from his Pidgey's perfected Gust. He pushed up the sleeve of his left arm with one hand, revealing an odd mark on his arm, located close to his elbow. "See, I have this birth mark shaped like one. And, then there's my crystal pendant." He pulled the Suicune shaped crystal that hung from a leather cord around his neck, and held it up to the light. "My dad gave it to me, right before he left."

"Fascinating." Mr. Pokémon was looking at Kuro's birthmark with a curious expression. "Have either of you ever heard of the Beast Signers? They're quite well known in Johto stories, and your birthmark reminds me of the tale, Kuro."

Kuro pulled his blue jacket sleeve down, and cocked his head curiously. "Really? I've heard of something similar, but I'm not too sure what these beast things are."

"Don't they have to do with the Burned Tower in Ecruteak or something?" Rosie asked, also curious to know.

"Yes, something along those lines. I haven't read the story in ages, so I'll have to find one of my old myth books. Perhaps I'll discover them underneath the layer of dust that terrorizes my attic." Mr. Pokémon chuckled once more, and sighed. "It's really nice to have visitors now and then. So, I'd like to thank you for stopping by. I can reward you if you like?"

"There's no need for that, Mr. Pokémon." Rosie assured him, though she wouldn't mind a Pokémon egg. She didn't want to accidentally drop one, but that would probably happen eventually. Kuro perked up at the word _reward _as well_._

Mr. Pokémon pulled something from the pocket of his khaki pants, which both beginners recognized to be a Pokeball. "I insist, Rosie, really." He pushed the Pokeball into Kuro's awaiting hand, and smiled. "That Pokémon is an Abra, obtained during a visit to the game corner in Celadon City. I've had him for a couple of weeks, and he knows a few decent moves, including the egg move Thunder Punch as well as the taught move Hidden Power. He should be useful to you for your gym battle."

"Wow, thanks!" Kuro grinned at the new Pokeball in his hand as Pidgey flew to perch on his shoulder while Totodile did his best to climb up his leg to cling to the collar of his jacket. Both managed to get good looks of the newest team mate's circle home while Mr. Pokémon addressed Rosie.

"Like I said earlier, I'll have Elm call you when one of those eggs are approaching their due date." He explained. "Do you like a particular one?"

"Well, I like both the pink one with the spiral shapes and the one with a triangle print. But, I'm having trouble deciding."

"I'll surprise you then, Rosie." Mr. Pokémon had enjoyed himself, explaining things to new trainers and showing them his boastful collection of items. Even if he had several Pokémon, it was nice to have kids around. All of his own were grown and lived in different regions, so kids were always welcome.

…**..**

Inside the wild Pokémon's refuge, an ancient relic shelter of the ruins, Jake found a Sentret who would not stand still for anything. Making clucking sounds under its breath, the common Pokémon scurried all over the one room house, not registering the open doorway or the light that filtered through the caved windows. If it had, it would've been out long ago.

"Seriously, that Pokémon needs to chill." Jake muttered, struggling to get a free Pokeball from his pocket. Once he got his hands on one, it fell from his hand and rolled onto the concrete like flooring. "Grab that for me, Munchlax." Quietly, Jake walked up to the Sentret, and quickly patted it on the tail as it scurried past.

Out of surprise, the Pokémon paused in its panic and turned to stare at Jake. "Sen?"

"It's okay, honest." Jake wasn't sure how he could calm the little thing, but he did his best to keep his tone gentle. Before he could go on, a Pokeball sailed towards Sentret and bopped him on the tail. The Pokémon was sucked in instantly, before it closed with an official click. "What the-?"

"Munch." Munchlax shuffled past Jake and picked up the Pokeball and handed it to his trainer. "Munchlax."

"Oh, don't tell me that you actually caught it." Jake questioned as he pocketed the Pokeball. When his Pokémon nodded, he sighed. "I guess you'll do anything for food, huh? Come on, let's go get a few burgers or something."

**Another late update, but at least it was long Right? And Mr. Pokémon was introduced!This does slightly follow the Soulsilver game, but with a bunch of twists and things for my own kind of fun. Stuff did happen in this chapter, making it worthwhile.**

**Jake finally caught a Pokémon, though he needed his food loving Pokémon's help. Kuro received a Pokémon for being entertained by Mr. Pokémon, so that counts. Pokémon eggs and evolutionary stones were mentioned as well as training for the gym.**

**Oh! And an OC appeared! Layla belongs to lovesaphira, and I'm hoping that she was shown well. She's a neat OC, so I hope that her personality was shown well too.**

**Next chapter, there will be Kuro's gym battle, as well as shots from the gym battle of the others. Because writing about five different gym battles will be hard, I'll only show Kuro's entire battles while everyone else will either have the beginning or the ending of theirs shown. This will save time, and it should make sense.**

**Please review!**


	6. Chapter 6: Flying High!

**Chapter 6: Flying High**

An elevator ride was required in order to reach the battleground on the very top floor of the Violet City gym. Both Jocelyn and Darren willingly took the ride upwards in the metal rectangular box, and awaited their arrival. Jocelyn was quick to run out with her Misdreavus on her tail. With his Murkrow, Ace, following, Darren walked out in his ordinarily calm fashion.

Pace aside, they made it to the room where the gym leader held battles at the same time. Darren pulled the door open and quickly moved out of the way as Jocelyn raced inside. The battleground was a spread out arena, surrounded by stacked seats and lit up by the absence of a real ceiling. The dusty battle field was in the middle of the room, and decorated with tall poles and hoops that hung from the wall's crisscross beams.

At the moment, one silver haired boy was seated, watching the gym battle in session. It was between the gym leader, a slender teen with spiky hair, and his Pidgeotto and a girl with a Growlithe. It was obvious that the battle was coming to a close, but it was hard to say who the predicted victor would be. Both Pokémon appeared to be worn out, but both were also still going strong with moves and speed.

"Pyro, use a double Ember combo! Hurry!" The opposing girl trainer commanded while the Pidgeotto charged forward with Peck. Pushing her long black hair back, the girl narrowed her dark onyx eyes at the gym leader. Jocelyn gasped when she recognized the girl to be Michayla, and was surprised to see her friend act so fierce while battling. "Come on!"

Her Growlithe looked ready to take a nap right there on the battle field, so he surprised everyone when he released flaming balls from his fluffy snout. "Growl!" He cried in a slight squeak of a growling voice. With his tail wagging furiously, he sent another Ember for good measure.

Pidgeotto flew with grace and used Agility to dodge all the fireballs by swaying to the right and the left. This caused Michayla to stamp her foot out of fury. Her Growlithe, Pyro, looked angered as well, and began charging forward with streaks of flame erupting from his feet. He looked beyond exhausted, but he delivered Flame Wheel onto Pidgeotto. With a clash, Growlithe was sent flying back to Michayla's side, but landed squarely on his paws. Pidgeotto, however, crash landed and sent dust flying.

"Pid…" As the whiffs of dust cleared away over the course of two seconds, Pidgeotto was revealed to be knocked out.

"Wow!" Jocelyn whispered loudly, as she and Darren seated themselves. A few chairs away, the silver haired onlooker was gazing interestedly at Michayla, and looked impressed.

The gym leader gave in to a small grin, and willingly returned his last Pokémon to its Pokeball. "Excellent work, Pidgeotto. Take a nice rest, kay?" He clutched the Pokeball in his fist and strode over to Michayla, who was through being energetic and was now inspecting Pyro for injuries. "Thank you for the great battle, Michayla. You're pretty tough for a beginner."

"Thanks!" Michayla replied in a pleased tone. She scooped up Pyro in her arms, and looked at the leader with serious eyes. "This means that I won, right?"

"Of course."

Michayla's eager hand clasped the Zephyr Badge tightly as it was dropped into her palm. She gazed down at it with a pleased, excited look whilst balancing an exhausted Pyro in the other arm. She whispered thanks rather quietly again before dashing out of the gym in a joyful mood. Raven-black hair streamed in the air as Michayla Silverfeather disappeared out the blue doors, never to return for a rematch.

"Nice!" The silver haired boy who sat far away from Jocelyn and Darren grinned and remarked loudly. "Looks like this year's Johto League will provide me with some decent opponents." He must've felt Darren and Jocelyn's eyes on him, since he looked right in their direction curiously. "Are the two of you planning on battling Falkner?"

While Darren calmly nodded, Jocelyn grinned energetically in contrast and said, "You bet!" Out of nowhere though, her confident smile faded and she narrowed her eyes as she studied the fellow trainer. "Say, aren't you that kid from New Bark Town? You took Cyndaquil."

"Yeah, Vergil Hawkins; upcoming elite trainer," he flashed a cocky half grin, before flicking his long silver hair over his shoulder. "Better hurry and challenge Falkner. He's probably eager to take a break, especially after facing five trainers in one day. No one's left much of an impression, but that Michayla girl was at least decent."

'What a hotshot,' Darren thought quietly to himself as Jocelyn tugged him by the arm over to the gym leader. He allowed Jocelyn the chance to introduce them both, and he also decided to let her go first. She was practically jumping up and down like a Raticate in a cheese frenzy. Darren took a seat in the bleachers, awaiting a nice first gym battle.

"Okay, I'll gladly permit a two on two battle." Falkner marched to take a stand at the far side of the battleground, where he politely nodded to the excited Jocelyn. His hands were practically flying as he flung a Pokeball out onto the field. A one-legged owl Pokémon appeared, hopping all about.

Jocelyn, with a permanent grin, sent her choice Pokémon out for the first round. Pearl, her Marill, came out on her side. Pearl tottered ever so slightly upon being sent out, but she managed a perfect balance as well as a cheerful, "Rill!"

"As the challenger, you may have the first command." Falkner offered.

"Great! Pearl, attack first with a Water Gun at full force!"

…

"For the third time, Kuro, your Pidgey's female!" Rosie dramatically stamped the grass with the heel of her tennis shoes, and crossed her arms. She glanced crossly at Kuro who was having a rather difficult time processing what she said. "Understand? Stop calling her 'he'!"

"Pid!" Kuro's Pidgey nodded a feathery head in agreement from her resting spot in a nestle of tall grass.

Kuro scratched his head and gave a drawn out sigh. "Okay, okay. I get it. What about Totodile and Abra?"

Rosie stared down at her pale pink Pokédex. "Both male."

"Well, I was half right, calling her he!" Kuro insisted, leaning against a tree.

Rosie narrowed her eyes at him haughtily, and prepared to open her mouth to reply. Kuro cut her off almost instantly.

"Could you please skip the lecture, and check the map? I'd like to get to Violet City before the day ends."

"We're not even in Cherrygrove yet!" Rosie cried. She bent down and slung her knapsack over her shoulder, before stomping off in a general direction. "Now, get your lazy butt up so we can move forward! Do you hear me, Kururugi?"

Kuro groaned. "Sure, sure."

"Pidgey!" his declared female Pidgey flew forward and settled herself on his shoulder, and the newbie trainer hurried after his hasty traveling companion.

They passed on final field of tall grass before coming upon a nice open clearing, lined with scraggly bushes. A trio of Sentret eyed the two trainers wearily from a tail-perch position, while several Rattata gave them curious looks as they chased each other playfully.

"We come in peace." Kuro told them, raising his hands at the watchful Normal types.

The Sentret continued to stare at him, appearing unsure and sheepish. A split second later, all three of them tensed and scurried away into the bushes. The Rattata perked up and stiffened in their playing too, eventually opting for an escape into the bushes.

"You scared them away!" Rosie hissed, clutching the digital camera that hung around her neck. "Now I won't have any good pictures to send to my sister."

"I didn't do nothing!" Kuro declared adamantly.

Rosie rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"Honest! All I did was be friendly. It's not my fault that they're a timid species."

"I guess." Rosie admitted, sighing. "Sentret are timid and all, but aren't Rattata supposed to be tenacious? It's kind of strange that you're 'being friendly' gesture frightened them off. They seemed pretty spooked. I wonder…" her voice trailed off, and her green eyes stared up at sky questioningly.

Out of nowhere, Kuro's Pidgey zipped off his shoulder and flew into the air. She hovered above them, her keen eyes scanning the surrounding sky, and her wings flapping vigorously. She tensed, and flew higher still.

"Pidgey!" she cried, looking down at Kuro.

Kuro stared at her, puzzled. "What's up?"

One long, ominous shadow casted itself onto the sunny grass, answering his question. Kuro got one good look at it, taking in the shadow's long, fierce beak and huge gaping wings.

"Kuro, get down!" Rosie suddenly tackled him to the ground, holding him down with a surprisingly strong hold. "Look!"

Somehow, Kuro managed to look up, his eyes widening at the large Flying type now entering combat with his Pidgey, in the air. With that long, piercing red beak, and the shaggy feathers, it couldn't have been anything other than one furious Fearow.

"Fear!" it shrieked, charging into Pidgey.

"Pid!" Pidgey swerved around him in one fantastic arc, and recovered from the blow. She hovered a foot above him, and waved her wing, sending a small Gust blow.

The attack smacked into the Fearow, but it remained unfazed. It charge again, and bulldozed into Pidgey with a mighty Peck. It then barreled a triple attack with its beak, sending Pidgey pummeling to the grass.

"No!" Kuro tore out of Rosie's grasp, and caught the weakened bird Pokémon in his arms. "Pidgey! You okay?" he asked with obvious concern.

Rosie hurried over to him, her eyes on the glaring Fearow. "It used Drill Peck!" She fished her one Pokeball from her pocket, and tossed it onto the field. "Petals! Razor Leaf!"

Petals appeared from the Pokeball, and appeared happy to carry out an order. "Chika!" she twisted her big leaf, and unleashed a volley of sharp leaves onto the Fearow.

"Row!" the Fearow was caught in the attack, its wings flailing. But, aside from the faint scratches on its beak and wings, it was unharmed by the move. "Fearow!"

Kuro cradled Pidgey in one supportive arm, and sent a Pokémon of his own out. "This is a job for my mega powerful Abra! Hidden Power, go!"

Levitating an inch off the ground in a lotus position, Kuro's new Abra stared at his surroundings with squinty eyes. After taking one look at the fierce Fearow, he shook his head quicky and snapped his gold fingers. He teleported away, leaving two ten year olds, an injured Pidgey, and one perky Chikorita to fend for themselves.

Rosie stared at where the Abra had once been, deeply surprised. "I think your mega powerful Abra just ditched us."

Kuro was outraged. "I don't believe him!"

"Chika!" Petals cried, agreeably.

Fearow flapped its wings furiously, unleashing harsh winds upon them. Grass was torn out of the ground, and the bushes began shaking wildly as a powerful air move commenced. Rattata and Sentret were soon flying through the air, while Kuro and Rosie grabbed their Pokémon quickly.

"This is nuts!" Rosie cried, her mouth dry from the winds.

Despite the gusts and blows, Kuro managed a response. "I know!"

They grabbed at the ground as the winds continued, while their Pokémon were held close. With the fears of being blown away, the kids kept their grips firm.

"Mareep!" A shrill cry ended the winds, complete with a flash of bright yellow light.

The winds gone, Kuro and Rosie glanced up upwards, their eyes wide with shock at the spectacle occurring.

A fluffy furred Mareep stood sturdily on the ground, and glared up at the Fearow. Its wool was crackling with intense electricity, and its eyes appeared furious. The Fearow, in response, looked just as irritated, and was now recovered from the attack.

The Mareep, sent a final strike of electricity in the Fearow's direction. "Mareep!"

The Fearow flew out of the way, and charged. "Fearow!"

Rosie tucked Chikorita under one arm, and hurriedly pulled Mareep with the other. With both Pokémon safe in her arms she ran in the direction of Cherrygrove City.

"Kuro, come on!"

Kuro obeyed, zipping after her with Pidgey in his arms.

…

"Psywave, go!"

Mildred obeyed, sending the ray attack out at Falkner's final Pokémon. In response to being smacked by the attack, the opponent's Pidgeotto crash landed slowly to the gym floor, knocked out.

"Pid…" it uttered weakly.

Falkner returned it to its Pokeball immediately. "Good work, Pidgeotto! Get a good rest."

"I won! I won!" Jocelyn hugged her Misdreavus close, and waved to Darren. "Did you see me? I won!"

Darren grinned. "Good work!"

Jocelyn eagerly accepted her gym badge and zipped out of the gym room. She wanted to show it off to Jake, and for the moment, the idea of watching Darren's own gym battle was forgotten.

Her departure left a lightly puzzled Falkner and a prepared Darren.

"Are you still willing to battle me?" Darren asked.

Falkner recovered from the shock of the disappeared challenger, and replied. "Uh, well, not really. I mean, yeah, I can definitely battle you. Just, not today. I'm going to give my Pokémon a much needed rest. Could you wait out until tomorrow at noon?"

Darren nodded. "Of course."

"Great! I'll see you then."

With Ace perched on his shoulder, Darren hurried out after Jocelyn.

…

Kuro leaned against the exterior wall of the Pokémon Center, his arms crossed and his blue eyes narrowed. He frowned at the grass, and was unsurprised by the sudden teleportation of his Abra. The Psychic type Pokémon stood up from his lotus position, and appeared sheepish in a squinty eyed expression.

"Nice of you to show up." Kuro said, moodily. "You know, especially after ditching us like that."

His Abra shrugged. "Abra."

Kuro sighed, and turned away from the Pokémon. "Pidgey'll be okay, but did you really need to be all cowardly?"

"Abra…" Head down, Abra crossed his golden arms and sighed. "Abra."

Kuro looked back at the creature, not knowing what to do or say to his third Pokémon.

Meanwhile, within the Pokémon Center lobby, Rosie was trying her best to reason with the Mareep from earlier. Being supportive, Petals did her very best to reason along with her.

"Come on! I wouldn't be all that bad of a trainer!" Rosie insisted. "I did save you back there, didn't I?"

Mareep shrugged. "Reep."

"Chika!" Petals cried.

Rosie clasped her hands pleadingly. "Please? You showed a valiant spirit out there, Mareep. I'd love to have you on the team. You'd be an exceptionally awesome friend to have along on the journey!"

Mareep remained indifferent, and showed it by trotting off. "Mareep."

Her arms hanging limply at her sides, Rosie sighed. "What's the use?"

"Chik…" Petals patted her leg consolingly.

"I'd hate to be in your position, that's for sure." A voice remarked.

Rosie looked up at the redheaded girl standing before her. A Mime Jr stood loyally by her shoes, grinning cheerfully.

Puzzled, Rosie searched the girl's expression for a trace of snobbery, but saw nothing more than a friendly smile. "Uh, hi." Rosie ventured, tentatively.

"I'm Layla." The girl said, her hand outstretched towards Rosie. "Layla Charlotte Summers."

'Long name.' Rosie thought, absently. She smiled back, and shook the girl's hand. "I'm Rosalie Marie Greene, but I go by Rosie. Pleased to meet you!"

"Likewise." Layla adjusted the purple and blue wristbands circling her wrists, and stared over her shoulder at the indifferent Mareep. "So, you're trying to win it over for capture, huh?"

Rosie nodded. "Yeah, but it's no use. I'm not about to get violent, so I'll just have to look elsewhere."

Layla shook her head. "I wouldn't say all that." She fished a pink circular tube from her dark blue jeans, and held it out to Rosie. "This is Pokémon food, created with care by yours truly. Try using it as a gift or peace offering."

Rosie accepted the tube, and felt grateful. "Okay, thanks!"

"No problem." Layla placed her hands on her hips, and her Mime Jr. mimicked her actions to a T.

Carefully, Rosie approached Mareep, the tube in hand. The Wool Pokémon stood by a green bookcase, and appeared to be staring out an open window. Once in front of Mareep, Rosie knelt down beside it and dropped a few kibbles of food into the palm of her hand.

"Hi, Mareep!" she said, perkily. She held out the kibbles as an offering. "Would you like some?"

Mareep eyed the food hesitantly. "Reep?"

Petals was helpful, gulping down two kibbles. "Chika!" She smiled, and looked at the tube of Pokémon food almost longingly. "Chi?"

"Not now, Petals." Rosie whispered with her eyes on Mareep.

Mareep stared at both Petals and Rosie suspiciously before gulping down the entire handful of kibble. The Pokémon munched eagerly on it before swallowing the food. It stared down at Rosie's empty hand, and appeared satisfied.

"Did you like it?" Rosie asked.

Mareep forgot its indifference, and smiled. "Mareep!"

"Great." Rosie shook the tube in Mareep's face. "If you came along with me, you'd get all the homemade Pokémon food that you could eat. Honest!"

Mareep seemed to consider this offer before finally nodding, albeit slowly. "Mareep."

Rosie couldn't contain her enthusiasm at the idea. "Awesome!" Retrieving a Pokeball quickly from her pack, Rosie held it out to Mareep. "Welcome to the team, Mareep."

Mareep willingly nudged the Pokeball button, and a scarlet beam pulled the Electricity-type in. The Pokeball wiggled in Rosie's hand before pausing. Her second Pokémon was officially caught.

"A first capture." Rosie whispered, looking down at the Pokeball brightly. "We did it, Petals!"

"Chikorita." Petals smiled, and grabbed at the tube of Pokémon food with her leaf.

She was unable to, since Layla's Mime Jr. chose that moment to retrieve it for his trainer. Layla pushed the tube into her pocket, and surveyed Rosie with bright green eyes.

"I guess it worked." She said. "You mentioned that you would provide it with homemade Pokémon food always. Do you know how to prepare some?"

Rosie froze, and sheepishly shook her head. "Well, no…How long does it usually take to make it?"

"For total newbies, about two days." Layla replied. "I, on the other hand, know how to acquire a perfect state of Pokémon food in the matter of an hour."

There was snobbery in her tone, but Rosie chose to ignore it. "Would you be willing to travel with us, then? My friend, Kuro, and I are going to need a chef."

"Is that really all I'm good for?" Layla asked, jokingly.

"Well, duh!" Rosie teased. "Are you from New Bark Town? You seem familiar."

"Uh-huh." Layla nodded. "I'm originally from Kanto, but I moved to New Bark with my family just last month."

Rosie nodded. "Huh, okay. So, want to come along? If you're a gym challenger, we're headed to Violet City. Kuro's got to battle Falkner."

Layla shrugged. "Sure. I was just there less than an hour ago."

"How's that possible? I heard that Violet City's a day away."

Layla grinned, haughtily. "Let's just say, that I discovered a neat little shortcut."

…

Inside the Violet City Pokémon Center, Jocelyn booked a room for the night while Jake and Darren entered a small discussion.

"So, you're gym battle's scheduled for tomorrow?" Jake asked.

Darren nodded. "Yep. Around noon."

"Okay, then. I can help you train with my new Sentret. We can go to Sprout Tower to do just that first thing tomorrow morning, if you want."

"Sounds like a plan."

Jake opened his mouth to say more, but he was cut off by the loud sound of Jocelyn's voice. "Rosie! Hey! You're here!"

Both boys turned to see Jocelyn dashing over to greet the three newcomers to the Pokémon Center, in the form of Kuro, Rosie, and a girl whom Jake vaguely recognized.

"We're here for the gym!" Kuro said enthusiastically to Jake and Darren. "Did either of you guys get badges?"

"I'm not challenging Falkner, but DB is tomorrow." Jake said, tossing his Munchlax's Pokeball into the air. "Oh, and Jocelyn's got a badge."

"Really?" Surprised, Kuro looked over his shoulder at the spritely girl, who was busy jabbering away to Rosie and Layla. "Huh, who knew? Anyway, what do you guys have scheduled for tomorrow?"

Jake grinned. "Training in Sprout Tower, of course."

**I'm so very pleased for this update, and I'm sincerely apologetic for its lateness. I hope that everyone found their OCs to be in character. And, I hope that everyone found this chapter to be entertaining.**

**I'll probably get the next chapter in this Thursday, since I'll have time on Thanksgiving. If I can't find time, I'll update Saturday. Either way, I'm going to update.**

**Next chapter will be fun, with training and OCs appearing. I'm still accepting OCs, but mainly for rivals and possible Team Rocket members. Just PM me the info if you're interested!**

**Please review!**


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